Of Boats and Basements
by PhoenixRising360
Summary: My take on how Gibbs really gets the boat out of the basement. Inspired by and written for "The Boat in Gibbs' Basement - Get it Out" challenge at NFA.


A/N: This story was inspired by and written for "The Boat in Gibbs' Basement: Get it Out" Challenge on NFA.

OF BOATS AND BASEMENTS

Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo showed up at the home of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on a Saturday morning dressed in his oldest pair of jeans and an equally old t-shirt, go-bag in hand. Excitement put a bounce in his step, a smile on his face. Happiness exuded out of every pore and as he stepped into the house, the strong aroma of coffee greeted him. He found Gibbs sitting at the dining room dressed much the same way he was, drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning, Boss."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said as a greeting between sips of coffee. Gibbs looked up at Tony and then jerked his chin toward the coffeemaker. Tony noted the empty mug, sugar bowl and bottle of hazelnut creamer sitting there. Surprise replaced his smile momentarily before it returned brighter this time. He fixed his coffee and then looked over to the basement. He saw that Gibbs had already taken the door to the basement off the hinges and the door was leaning against the dining room wall out of the way. Tony sank into the chair beside his boss, taking a steadying sip of the strong brew.

"Checked the weather, no sign of rain today or tomorrow so this is probably the best weekend you could've picked to do this."

Gibbs nodded and handed Tony the sports section. Tony took it and they drank their coffee in companionable silence. Gibbs seemed unhurried, leisurely drinking and reading. After about 15 minutes, Tony set the paper down. "Gibbs? Shouldn't we get to work? I mean, this is going to take a while, right? I mean…it's a boat. I still can't believe you're going to let me in on this but I am glad you are. I mean, it's been this big mystery for so long and you know, I'm still trying to figure out how we're going to get it up the stairs, I mean…it's so big…I was thinking we might have to take the railing off the stairs and then we can maneuver it…"

Gibbs looked up at him, amusement and curiosity in his eyes. Tony faltered momentarily but when it seemed like Gibbs was interested in what he had to say, he continued. "…I figure we can maneuver it on the stern and then maneuver diagonally through the door until it's horizontal and then inch by inch, turn it downward so it's on its side and carry it out. Did you get anyone else to help because it looks heavy but I didn't know if the wood is more lightweight than it looked but still, not sure two of us is gonna be enough."

Gibbs started laughing, a sound Tony had heard less in recent years than he had when Gibbs first hired him and he realized how much he'd missed it. Tony found himself smiling back a little uncertainly, not quite sure what was so funny. Finally, Gibbs calmed down and wiped a tear from his eye, his face still set in a smile. "Not a case you have to help solve, Tony. I already know how we're getting it out."

Tony's smile came back. "Yeah, I know, but I just wanted to see if I could figure it out myself. Am I close?"

The smirk didn't falter and Gibbs' eyes twinkled. "Not even."

Tony balled up his fist and punched his other hand lightly. "Dammit! I thought I'd at least have the right idea. Okay, Boss, enlighten me, how are we going to get the boat out of the basement?"

Still smiling, Gibbs stood up and pushed his chair in. "Come on, I'll show you."

Tony eagerly followed Gibbs to the basement, excited that he was finally…finally being let it on the secret that had long been speculated about among the team. He'd been surprised when Gibbs had asked for his help. He had no idea who helped him in the past but Gibbs didn't even have to ask, he'd already decided that no matter how it was done, he would not tell anyone that he knew the secret of it. Gibbs trusted him enough to ask him to help; he wouldn't ruin the man's mystique by revealing the secret. As Tony reached the bottom of the basement stairs, he looked in awe at the boat. The thing was even bigger than he remembered and looked solid. Tony stood there in awe.

"Boss, I hate to say it but there's no way we can get this out. It's too big. It won't even fit through the door."

Gibbs smirked as he walked over to the bow. "Come over here."

Tony walked up to Gibbs and Gibbs moved him to where he wanted to stand. "Okay, hold here and here." He pointed out where he wanted Tony's hands. "Now, don't push or pull, just hold it and don't let go. Keep your knees bent, put one foot back to brace yourself."

Gibbs waited until he approved of the position Tony was in and then he walked over to the hull. Gibbs ran his fingers down the wood until he seemed to find what he was looking for and braced his hand over the top. Using the other hand, he brought it down a few inches away from his left hand and pulled gently. Tony felt something shift in the boat.

"Keep holding," Gibbs warned as he walked around the hull and did the same on the other side in the parallel position. Tony felt it shift again and then Gibbs pulled along the bottom of the boat until that shifted also. Tony felt the section he held get heavier and only Gibbs having a hold on the bottom kept him from dropping it. "Okay, gently set it down. Easy." Together, they set the bow down. It wasn't a huge chunk of the boat but it was still fairly large. Tony studied the piece, wondering how hard it would be to get it upstairs.

"You made it sectional!" Tony blurted, his eyes skimming the length of the boat and back again, as if trying to find the seams.

Gibbs smiled. "Atta boy! Finishing work done outside."

Tony smiled. "Are we disassembling it first and then carrying everything out or one piece at a time?"

"One piece at a time. That way, the main structure stays intact until the last minute, prevents any damage to it from accidents."

Tony nodded. Carefully, they picked up the bow and positioned it so they could get it up the stairwell without damaging it or the railing. Getting it through the door was trickier due to its odd shape but carefully turning it at angles, they were able to get it through both doors and outside.

The process was repeated through all the sections, some sections slightly larger than others but all small enough to fit through the door with careful maneuvering. Tony found that the boat was indeed very heavy. Every couple of sections, they stopped to drink some water and take a break. "So you planned everything down to the tiniest detail before you used your basement to build."

"Well, yeah, DiNozzo. No point in building it if there was no plan to get it out."

"Always a strategist," Tony grinned.

"Damn right." Gibbs headed back down to the basement and Tony followed, grinning.

The rest of the dismantling and moving followed along the same lines. It took a few hours with breaks but they got the boat sections outside and Tony pulled off his t-shirt and used it to wipe the sweat from his face when they hauled the last piece out. Upon returning to the basement, the men then grabbed the heavy sawhorses that were holding it up.

"These have to be set up before we can reassemble the sections." Gibbs took out his measuring tape and measured the distance between each sawhorse, quickly writing down the measurements on his notepad. These sawhorses were quite a bit heavier than the ones he and Gibbs customarily sat on during the build. These were meant to support the weight of heavy builds. It took both men to haul one up the stairs. After all six were hauled up and positioned, they stopped to drink more water.

"Damn, Gibbs. I didn't think this was going to be easy, but this is a better workout than going to the gym."

"Gonna be sore tomorrow, DiNozzo."

"Nah, I'm good."

Gibbs smirked wryly at him and after a brief break, Gibbs was back outside checking the positioning of the sawhorses. "We'll have to attach these sections together before putting it up on the sawhorse or it won't stay put." He pointed to the stern and the section of the hull that attached to it.

Tony nodded and together they attached the two sections and lifted the heavy double section into place, Gibbs using clamps to hold it steady.

The next section was the smallest of the sectional pieces. "When we put this in the dowels, be careful to not push back too hard or the wood may crack." Once we get this piece on, we can take off the clamps and nothing should fall over if we're careful."

Tony understood and gently, they lifted the section in and Gibbs secured it. "Boss, I just had a thought. Making it sectional, didn't that weaken the skeleton of the boat? I mean, won't it be vulnerable to heavy weight, like water from high waves?"

Gibbs nodded. "It will be reinforced. Plan, DiNozzo."

"Of course."

Section by section, they reassembled the boat and it was late afternoon by the time it was put back together. Finally, Gibbs walked over to his storage shed and motion for Tony to follow. Inside, Gibbs pointed to several tarps. Together they used rope to weave them together through the ringed holes along the edge to make one huge tarp and then took it out to cover the boat to protect the inside from the elements. Once they were finally done, Tony stepped back and looked around admiring their hard work.

"I'm disappointed, Boss."

Gibbs looked up at him in surprise and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I thought you had some trick up your sleeve, like _Wingardium Leviosa_ and it would move by magic."

Gibbs frowned and for a moment Tony thought he would have to explain the reference. "Guess us muggles have to do things the old-fashioned way."

Tony looked up at Gibbs with a start. "Boss…you…you got my movie reference. You actually watched Harry Potter?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Books, DiNozzo. They were books before movies."

"But you read…"

"I do read, DiNozzo!"

"Harry Potter?"

The head slap shouldn't have surprised him but did. When he looked at Gibbs again, he was smirking. "If you're a muggle, how do you do your dark magic then?"

Gibbs' face was serious. "Ask Abby."

Tony smiled. "I knew you'd overheard that."

"Don't need to be a wizard to use the mist."

"I was sure you dissolved the boat in the mist to get it out of the basement."

"Nope, just brains and brawn. Come on DiNozzo, rehydrate, shower, then food and beer. Go!"

Tony grinned. "On it, Boss."

Gibbs ordered pizza while Tony showered and stared out at the back yard and let himself grin. He knew the team had attributed a mystique to how he got the boat out of the basement and briefly, he wondered if Tony would tell them. He didn't think he would but even if he did, it wasn't really a big deal. Deep down, they knew he was just a man.

Gibbs showered after Tony and he got downstairs just as it was delivered. When Tony opened the box, he grinned. "You got my favorite!"

"Favorite beer is in the fridge too,"

Tony grabbed the beer, put a couple slices on Gibbs' plate and then his own and took a huge bite of one, his face alight with pleasure. "Love you, Boss…even if you are just a muggle."

Gibbs chuckled. "I like dark magic better."

Tony laughed and winked as he took a swig of beer. "Noted." He chewed quietly for a few minutes and then looked over at Gibbs again. "You know, I'm really surprised Abby hasn't figured out how you get the boat out of the basement. I mean…it's kind of obvious."

"The best solutions are usually the most obvious."

"I know, but everyone still speculates how you do it. I'm kinda mad at myself for not having figured it out earlier."

Gibbs chuckled.

"You know, for you to overhear everything without being present is probably an obvious, simple solution too. I bet I can figure it out."

Gibbs reached over and slapped the back of Tony's head but smirked. "Dark magic."

"I should get you a wand…or…I know, how about a wizard's hat? I can even have the NCIS logo sewn into it, then you can wear it at crime scenes."

"I'd wear it if it could make alimony payments disappear."

"I'll see what I can do." Tony said, deadpan. Tony snapped his fingers. "Boats and basements. That's really what the two Bs stand for, isn't it? Not just second B for bastard."

Gibbs drank from his beer. "You give that secret away I will head slap you to your next concussion."

"Your secrets are safe with me, Boss."

Gibbs smirk turned to a real smile. "I know. That's why you're here, Tony."

"I thought it was just because of my superior strength."

Gibbs shrugged. "That helped." They raised their bottles and clinked them together.


End file.
